Welfare recipients denounce government claims that Centrelink payment indexation is an "increase", marking 5 years since JobSeeker was lifted to the poverty line
Today Antipoverty Centre members joined other welfare recipients at Parliament House to mark 5 years since the Morrison government temporarily lifted some Centrelink payments by $275 a week, bringing JobSeeker to the Henderson Poverty Line. Today, legislated indexation will see people on Centrelink payments receive an additional amount of $1 to $4 a week as living cost pressures continue unabated.
Included below: comments from the Antipoverty Centre, Anti-Poverty Network South Australia, Anglicare Australia and Dr Elise Klein; photo from the press conference; crisis line contact information.
Media contact: 0413 261 362 / media at antipovertycentre.org
The Antipoverty Centre, Anti-Poverty Network Queensland, Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union and Nobody Deserves poverty held a press conference at Parliament House and were joined by Anglicare Australia Deputy Director Maiy Azize and Associate Professor Elise Klein to call on the Labor government to bring all Centrelink payments to at least the Henderson Poverty Line in its fourth federal budget next week. The groups will also host an online event for to mark the occasion on Monday 24 March 2025. The event is open to the public and the media. Registration is required.
The $275 a week COVID supplement was completely removed by April 2021, and today JobSeeker remains $220 a week below the poverty line. The COVID supplement showed that the government can ensure people who rely on Centrelink payments are not living in poverty.
Antipoverty Centre Co-convenor and JobSeeker recipient Mel Fisher said:
Having a Centrelink payment at the Henderson poverty line meant I could breathe. I started being able to take care of my health and started to see a future for myself. I was getting close to being work ready and then just like that it was taken away again.
Antipoverty Centre spokesperson and JobSeeker recipient Jay Coonan said:
Lifting people above the poverty line was revolutionary. This short period in time proved that we can support people to thrive, and that refusing to raise people out of poverty is to needlessly and cruelly punish us. Centrelink payments feel more inadequate than ever for many welfare recipients. We are sick of the insults every six months when indexation comes around and the government trumpets “increases” of a few dollars a week as meaningful relief.
Anti-Poverty Network South Australia spokesperson Brendan Folwell said:
The COVID supplement was a wake-up call for our members who saw that a better life was possible with just a small increase to their welfare payments. Forcing people back below the poverty line was an act of cruelty that will not be forgotten any time soon.
Anglicare Australia Deputy Director Maiy Azize said:
Five years ago, the Government gave hope to hundreds of thousands of people when it raised the rate of JobSeeker and pulled them out of poverty. Lives were transformed, with many people being able to afford food and shelter – and plan for the future for the first time. It is all the more hurtful that we've gone so far backwards. The Government chose to end poverty once before. It can choose to do it again.
Associate Professor Elise Klein OAM from the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University said:
5 years ago, the Federal government showed how to end poverty in Australia. Today, rather than doing what we know works, the government chooses to inflict poverty on thousands of Australians. This is not necessary, make no mistake about it. Poverty in Australia is largely a government policy choice.
Media contact: 0413 261 362 / media at antipovertycentre.org
Crisis support and counselling services
If you need support you can seek guidance, counselling or crisis help from the below organisations or talk to someone you trust.
Suicide Call Back Service – general: 1300 659 467
Roses in the Ocean – peer support: 1800 777 337
SANE Australia – general: 1800 187 263
13YARN – for First Nations people: 13 92 76
National Counselling and Referral Service – for disabled people: 1800 421 468
Headspace – for young people: 1800 650 890
QLife – fo LGBTQIA+ people: 1800 184 527
Full Stop – for people who have experienced sexual harassment and assault: 1800 385 578
Embrace Mental Health – multilingual service: embracementalhealth.org.au
MensLine – for men: 1300 789 978
Brother to Brother – for First Nations men: 1800 435 799
